TexMessage: Sen. John Cornyn says ‘I hope the president will … reverse course on listing this species as endangered’

TEXMESSAGE

Thursday, March 22

Good morning, TexMessagers! Should the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard be added to the endangered species list?

TEXclusive

Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/AP Photo)

Sen. John Cornyn said the concerns on the forefront of the minds of the Obama administration are backwards… and the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard is not endangered.

The latter part of 2011 saw much debate about whether or not this species of lizard should be added to the official list of endangered species, though it has been a candidate since 2001.

But on Wednesday, the Republican from Texas brought up the issue again. His comments regarding President Obama’s trip to New Mexico are below:

“The misplaced priorities of this administration threaten property rights and jobs for West Texans, and as gas prices continue to soar I hope the president will see that firsthand and reverse course on listing this species as endangered.”

The naysayers believe that the lizard native to a small portion of Texas and a small portion of Mexico are not so rare, and that making the well being of the reptile a top concern could severely affect the gas industry in West Texas by halting oil and gas in selected areas of Texas and Mexico.

Late November of 2011, Cornyn teamed up with Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, and expressed their concerns in a letter (included below) to Ken Salazar, the secretary of the interior, as well as Dan Ashe, the fish and wildlife director. In early December, their wish was granted and it was announced that the lizard would be added to the list no sooner than six months, if at all.

Dear Secretary Salazar:

We are writing in regard to the upcoming decision in December on whether to list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (DSL) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Multi-District Litigant (MDL) settlement agreement permits you to delay a final listing decision for six months if there is a dispute between the scientific data relating to the biological health of the species. It is our understanding that there is a significant level of dispute regarding this issue.

In our view, the proposed listing of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard is not supported by adequate population viability evidence. Rather, it is based on a survey methodology (known as “presence/absence” surveys) that does not yield reliable population numbers or reliable information on population viability. The “absence” of DSL when a site with a historic “presence” finding is resurveyed does not warrant a conclusion that DSL are not present. The data shows that DSL–which often retreat underground as a defense mechanism– may be detected on some days, but not on others, during presence/absence surveys. Moreover, recent presence/absence surveys continue to find DSL in new locations.

The following studies by large research universities are examples of the scientific disputes that have been brought to our attention:

An August 10, 2011, review by New Mexico State University of the science cited and used in the FWS December 14, 2010, proposed listing notice for the DSL notes:

Statement of a 40% loss of DSL habitat are not scientifically defensible and was based on a “misuse and misrepresentation” of data compiled in a 1985 study. The methodology and data in that 1985 study actually do not allow its use to determine whether a loss of DSL habitat has occurred.

Specific habitat requirements for DSL have not been quantified in the published scientific literature and agency reports.

The literature cited in the FWS’s December 2010 proposed listing provides questionable estimates of DSL abundance. To provide robust estimates of species abundance and occupancy, estimates of detection probability are needed.

Recently published and ongoing research appears to provide a substantive improvement over the shortcoming of previous efforts and may provide more robust estimates regarding DSL habitat occupancy and measures of abundance.

An October 21, 2011, review by scientists at Texas Tech of the purported science cited by FWS in its December 2010 proposed listing of the DSL states:

Contrary to the conclusion reached by FWS that the DSL population is vulnerable to extinction, the DSL population research conducted in 2007 and 2009 demonstrates that the DSL is NOT showing characteristics expected of an endangered species in terms of limited genetic diversity or structure. Moreover, these recent studies indicate that there is geographic structure in the genetics of the three groups of DSL indicating long periods of survival within such groups which does not indicate a need for captive breeding and reintroductions. The Texas Tech scientists conclude that the new research and available data does not support the hypothesis that the DSL merits listing as an endangered species.

The available literature does not provide the type of data necessary to support the conclusions in the proposed listing regarding habitat loss caused by oil and gas production activities.

There is considerable uncertainty as to the abundance of DSL throughout Texas and New Mexico in part due to a lack of systemic, long-term research on specific populations or in particular geographic regions. The lack of suitable data precludes a reasonable assessment of DSL population trends. A recent study in 2011 suggests that DSL abundance may have been previously underestimated.

The available data on the effects of anthropogenic factors (chemicals and pollutant introduced by oil and gas activities) on the DSL is limited and prevents a robust assessment of actual risk to the DSL. More extensive research, better experimental design, and sampling of environmental media for potential toxicants and effects on habitat characteristics are needed to clearly identify potential risk factors. The vast majority of information available on DSL is in the form of reports to state and federal agencies and has not been published in the primary literature and subjected to rigorous peer review.

Given these disputes in the scientific data relating to the merits of a listing, we request that you delay the final listing decision for six more months while the scientific community continues its important work.

Sincerely,

John Cornyn

Jim Inhofe

Senator Cornyn serves on the Finance, Judiciary, Armed Services and Budget Committees. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.

###

Presidential campaign watch

Every morning, we share some headlines from 2012 presidential campaign.